Murali's Writeups...

  In 1979, I spent one month in Bangalore pursuing International Law studies under a renowned International Law scholar Prof. M.K. Nawaz. Iran was in the news every day. At that time, Iran was an economically powerful country under the questionable leadership of the Shah of Iran.  Ayotalla Khomeini was leading the Islamic revolution in Iran. Bangalore at that time was full of Iranian students because the Iranian government doled out generous scholarships for their young citizens to pursue the education of their choice in foreign countries. So, the prevailing crisis then in Iran spilled over to India, especially in Bangalore. The Iranian student community in Bangalore was naturally influenced by the happenings in Iran. They fought amongst themselves in Bangalore resulting in police cases. Some Bangalore criminal lawyers made big money from these fights.   Soon thereafter, I received a grant from USICA (US International Communication Agency) to visit the USA. As...

MURDER OF JAMAL KHASHOGGI - The Beginning of a New Regime Relating to Sovereign Immunity and Economic Sanctions? The ghastly murder of the Saudi National, Turkish and US resident Mr. Jamal Khashoggi in the Saudi Consulate Office in Istanbul, Turkey has opened the Pandora’s Box. Diplomatic and consular immunity is among one of the first principles of Customary International Law to evolve and probably acquire the status of Jus Cogens . These principles were codified in two conventions- namely, The Vienna Convention on Diplomatic conditions, 1961, and the Vienna Convention of Consular Relations, 1963. Subsequently, the concept of Diplomatic immunity was also extended to employees of International Organizations. Mr. Khashoggi was one of the well-known faces in the Saudi Arabian Political landscape. He held important positions in the Saudi Foreign Affairs Ministry, and later became a critic of the Saudi monarchy and the royal family coterie. In fact, he went to the Saudi Consulate...

Imran Leads Pakistan- Who Should lead India in 2019? When I was young, Mr Imran Khan was a person young Indians loved to hate. Many a time, he snatched victory from the Indian cricket team when all believed that India would win the match easily. At the end of his cricketing career, many of the haters became admirers. The cancer hospital in Lahore, built by him in his mother’s memory, made most people envy and admire him. Mr Imran Khan, a Pathan by ethnicity and a Lahorian by domicile, is an Oxonian. He comes from a good family and all of his siblings are very accomplished. He does not hail from a land-owning feudal family. His family played no part in Pakistani politics. As a resident of London, he was always seen in “ Liberal Circles ” dated many accomplished women, married a lady of Jewish origin. Notwithstanding a divorce after about a decade, the couple has a reasonably healthy post-separation relationship. His life also included one acknowledged (after a contest) out-of-w...

NATIONAL REGISTER OF CITIZENS- INDIAN CONSTITUTION’S PANDORA’S BOX – Settle them Indian/Pakistan Kashmir! I- PROLOGUE Nation states have existed for a very long time. Even though the nations did not prohibit their citizens to leave their country and settle in another, not many citizens did that. Similarly, many nations did not prohibit the entry of foreigners and in fact encouraged them to have properties, slaves and even families. The concept of passports and visas before entry are relatively modern, dating back to just 104 years. Hence, the first draft of the National Register of Citizens which apparently left out about 4.2 million residents of Assam has attracted a lot of attention. Most importantly, Ms. Mamata Banerjee had declared ‘ civil war ’ and ‘ bloodbath ’. Not surprisingly, some FIRs have been registered against her in Assam. II- ASSAM, EAST PAKISTAN IN 1960s TO 1980s a) The partition of India in 1947 on religious lines creating 2 countries and 3 geographical...